Column: Cats' Hilburn deserves a salute

Excess is the rage I childishly exhibited during a routine game of pitch on Christmas day. It's the alcohol consumed each and every New Year's Eve. It's the glut of bowls that now comprise college football's postseason.

Yes, excess comes in all shapes and forms. But here's what excess isn't: It isn't a simple salute to people who traveled long distances and endured numerous hardships to support you.

What Kansas State's Adrian Hilburn did Thursday in the Pinstripe Bowl following a touchdown that could have tied Syracuse wasn't an example of excessive celebration, no matter how history will remember it. It wasn't a player calling extra attention to himself.

Hilburn's two-second salute was exactly what salutes are supposed to be — a show of respect. It was a tribute to Wildcat fans who made the difficult journey to the Big Apple to cheer on their team.

So, to the two Big Ten officials who threw flags and imposed a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, I have but one thing to say:

"Wrong choice, buddies."

That, by the way, was the insensitive message one of the officials delivered to Hilburn, a senior who scored for only the second time in his college career. While Hilburn was reduced to tears by a couple guys who wouldn't know a big moment if it ran by them in the end zone during the final seconds of a bowl game, the Big Ten crew was busy painting itself as righteous upholders of some sacred law.

Referee Todd Geerlings was quick to cite the celebration rule at issue, 9-2-1d, which states a penalty is called for "any delayed, excessive, prolonged or choreographed act by which a player attempts to focus attention on himself."

"These kinds of excessive celebrations have been a priority in the rulebook for the last several years," Geerlings explained. "There's a whole page in the rulebook pertaining to sportsmanship."

Too bad there isn't a full page devoted to common sense.

Never mind that the salute was none of those things mentioned by rule — delayed, excessive, prolonged or choreographed — or that Hilburn was trying to call attention to the crowd, not himself. The bottom line to all of this is the head linesman and back judge did exactly what officials hope to avoid — they became as big as the very game they were working.

Isn't it ironic that the officials ultimately called more attention to themselves than Hilburn called to himself?

Generally speaking, you know a call was wrong — or at least questionable — when people are still talking about it the following day. That certainly was the case with this incident.

Friday morning, the controversy was one of the first topics debated on ESPN First Take. Analyst Skip Bayless, who often favors a contrarian point of view over common sense, said his first reaction to the penalty was, "You're kidding me!"

Not surprisingly, he later changed his tune.

"I sat back the rest of the night and I thought about it," Bayless said. "And I thought, what would I have counseled this referee to do? Would I have said, 'Look the other way? Consider the circumstances, the moment.' And I thought, 'No, you can't do that because he broke the letter of the law that they have been told the last two years you've got to crack down on this.' You can't do anything to call attention to yourself, even though I thought (Hilburn) was mostly saluting his fans in the stands.

"In the end, you have to call it. If he does anything, you have to call it."

Later, Bryant added: "The referees have it within their jurisdiction to call unsportsmanlike conduct at any point in a game. And they chose this moment in a bowl game? You've got to be kidding me. They messed up in a big way."

Yes, they did. Who knows whether K-State would have tied the game, but the Wildcats deserved a reasonable opportunity to do so. The officials robbed them of that.

But no matter how many people agree with that assessment, Hilburn isn't likely to find much consolation. He said he bawled upon learning of the penalty and blamed himself for K-State's 36-34 loss even though he led the team with five receptions and 84 receiving yards. He accepted responsibility and seemed genuinely contrite.

In short, Hilburn handled himself well ... from the moment he saluted his fans until he finished his postgame interviews. His actions certainly were more appropriate than the officials'.

So today I salute you, Adrian. And I'll be happy to do it excessively.

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Let this go for crying out loud! Why don't we talk about Snyder's fake field goal or the missed extra point??? Instead, we complain about a call that is in the rule book and was broke. Yeah, it came at a bad time but thats not at all what made this game.....nobody likes excuses!

Salute and Happy New Year to Hilborn!
I couldn't agree more that while most Ref's do a good job, there are some that can't control themselves with their enthusiasm to show their authority and those few ruin all officials respect. No different than the few bad cops that exist as well. What needs to happen is for the NCAA to acknowledge and openly admit these mistakes and severely penalize them. Why would good referees want these slugs ruining their reputations. Good statement that in the end, the ref only called attention to himself.

But, I think KSU deserved a chance to try to tie the game and Syracuse deserved the right to win without that BS call.

On ESPN, they polled the question about whether or not the flag should have been thrown. 90 percent said no. Unless you are Ku fan trying to kick KSU fans while they are down, there is doubt that call was BS.

Gorilla, You are the reason I hate so many Ku fans. Kicking the other side when they are down. I pick on Ku fans, but only in response to their BS posts and never to goat after they lose. I only counter punch jerks like you.

Only little punks like you kick people when they are done. The funny thing is you have to do it anonymously to do that. So, that would be you Gorilla, a little weasel with a key board.

Oh in regards to Snyder losing the game with the fake field goal which so many Ku fans like to babble about for some reason, I will gladly counter again that this is the same Bill Snyder that has beaten Ku 14 times out of the last 15 meetings with a smooth little 59-7 beating taking place this year.

Also, it was Bill Snyder's will power that won the 7 games that got KSU to bowl game and winning those 7 games with that crappy defense and no D-1 QB is simply amazing.

Not gonna let it go gorilla! Yes, poor defense, poor QB-ing, a bad call by HCBS, and real rules infractions that led to penalties were the reasons the Cats were in a position to lose at the end of the game.
The Cats did not need any help from the zebes! I defy anyone to call the salute "excessive, etc. As for the white hats explanation referring to not calling attention to one's self, why then are the players required to wear uniforms with numbers, why do they play the game in the first place, why do penalty announcements include the offenders jersey number and why are the games televised???????? Where I come from we refer to calls such as the salute as Pure-D-Bull$#!+

"Gorilla, You are the reason I hate so many Ku fans. Kicking the other side when they are down"

Do you know how much crap I have heard from ksu fans this year regarding KU football??? Isn't that kicking the other side when they are down. ha, you just did it later on in your comment you dummy.....

KSU football beat 1 team with a winning record this year......ONE TEAM. They won 3 big12 games against the two last place teams in the north and south and Iowa State. haha, you are right! Snyder did a great job getting them to the Pinstripe bowl where they LOST! NOTHING amazing about that......Learn to take a loss and quit crying BAB!! EXCUSES